12:19 AM,
Jul. 12, 2013

Yepun is one of the four Unit Telescopes that are part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT).

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Bernie Badger column: Satellites and Planets

Yepun is one of the four Unit Telescopes that are part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.

A yellow laser beam activates sodium ions in the upper atmosphere, which glow, creating an artificial star. Adaptive optics use the guide star to cancel out the effects of atmospheric distortion, allowing clear images to be taken.

Yepun is only one of four separate optical telescopes making up the VLT. The other telescopes are known as Antu, Kueyen and Melipal. These are all words for astronomical ...